#233
Karma Shopping (1)
‘I have a lot to do.’
Even if I had ten bodies, it wouldn’t be enough.
Usually, that’s just a figurative expression, but for someone like me who genuinely has ten bodies, it was a painfully realistic situation.
No, if anything, having ten bodies made me even busier.
‘Since we’re all playing in deep waters, of course, big things come along with it.’
First of all, Harley, who finally engraved the “Engraving of the Dragon King.”
Traditional sorcerers accepted him without much opposition and expressed their respect, but that didn’t mean he immediately became the king ruling the south.
A long time had passed since the last Dragon King appeared, and the system of chief leaders elected by mutual agreement had solidified as a norm.
Even if it was a promise made during the founding, the contemporary public wouldn’t easily accept it… or so I thought.
Surprisingly, things were going quite smoothly.
‘Well, I guess it makes sense.’
He was a member of the special task force that defeated the Undead King in the south and the great warrior who eliminated the former chief leader Balteon, who had betrayed humanity and committed various atrocities, saving Kalcos in the process.
Moreover, the current chief leader, who had been confined, was struggling to return quickly due to aftereffects, making the public favor the young hero “Dragon King Harley” as their new center of attention.
‘Once the south is somewhat settled, I need to visit Patrick. I wonder how he’s doing after whining to show his face at the mercenary guild.’
Secretary Patrick had survived a coup attempt using his name and was successfully holding onto his position in the guild, but for effective task execution, Harley needed to get more actively involved with the guild.
Having delegated the work, it was only right to cooperate a bit.
‘Hans… will need some time for now.’
Meanwhile, the Undead King Hans had planned to recuperate in the Undying Castle for a while.
He decided to take this opportunity to dive into two significant research topics.
The first was tracking the “Seed of Madness” using the metallic fragment obtained from the Abyssal Gate, aiming to find the revolutionary that would be with it.
‘That guy is exceptionally evasive, having thoroughly eluded tracking so far. If I make a half-hearted attempt and get detected, who knows what he’ll do next? This time, I’ll definitely get it done.’
The second was completing a method to travel to another world using the damaged consciousness of Salma.
‘The more karma sources, the better. No matter how much I stir things up in Auterica, I’ll eventually hit a limit.’
I had no intention of endlessly milking the conflict with the Undead King, especially not with such thought.
Sure, I could exert influence through avatars in key positions of each faction, but unless I purposely incited chaos in the world, the more stable things became, the more revenue would naturally decline.
‘Moreover, the Ganghwan Realm is rated highly among dimensions for human combat. I might find something useful there.’
While I had forcibly absorbed knowledge from several returning martial artists with Hans’s ability to read memories, the fundamental systems of power were so different that I couldn’t fully grasp their essence.
Of course, it took time to deliver results in either case.
‘The rest isn’t urgent, so I’ll think about it later. Right now, I need to focus on something else.’
Just as I thought, at this very moment—
I was about to face something monumental.
Hoo— alright. Let’s get started.
I took a deep breath amidst the tension, rubbing my hands together while glaring intensely at the system window right in front of me.
『Karma Shop Ver.2』
Yes, it was finally the long-awaited shopping time.
The total points available were 5.3 million.
‘Let’s start with…’
First, I casually bought two “Potion of Growth (7 days) (200,000)” and sent them to Howard and Hesperon.
The Dwarf artisan Howard, who was sweating it out in the forge every day, and the magic book fanatic Hesperon would certainly appreciate this potion for saving time above all else.
‘Let’s treat this as a one-time investment. If it turns out to be useless, there’s no way I’d buy it again.’
Initially, I considered buying just one to test it out, but I decided to go all out for a more reliable comparison.
One side was skilled in physical arts, while the other was absorbed in knowledge and magic; this would allow for a more accurate assessment of the potion’s performance.
Now, only 4.9 million points remained.
I hadn’t done much yet, and the digits had already changed.
Feeling a bit restless, I set my sights on the next target.
『Random Other Skill Acquisition (500,000)』
A random draw.
A love-hate subject familiar to gamers.
It was a devilish sales tactic that endlessly drained money from consumers entranced by the odds.
Naturally, I had never intended to touch such a gambling-like product, but…
‘Thinking it through, it’s definitely advantageous for me.’
The “Avatar” shares skills from the main body.
In other words, I wasn’t just drawing one skill.
I was pulling ten shares of skills that included the main body and nine avatars!
‘If I do the math, that’s practically only 50,000 per skill! At this point, it’d be strange not to do it! …I’ll just do it once.’
How much help had the first shared skill “Super Recovery” been during the initial moves of my clones?
Not only did it provide assistance, but it also greatly influenced the subsequent evolution of skills, as seen with Harley’s and Heinz II’s “Enhanced Regeneration.”
‘Even if the skill turns out to be something odd like “Sturdiness,” it’s still fine. Having it on hand would help in any way. And if I hit the jackpot…’
I didn’t ask for much.
Just something simple like “Physical Immunity,” “Resurrection,” or even “Eye of Instant Death” would be great.
Enthralled by illusions that didn’t even exist, I boldly selected to draw—
《Forcing the emergence of random possibilities. Acquiring skill “Xenoglossy.”》
Simultaneously, I gained a skill with a name that sounded impressive and magical.
“Whoa—! Oh…?”
Xenoglossy.
It was indeed an extraordinary ability.
A superpower that allowed me to fluently speak any language I’d never learned.
I could read, write, listen, and speak with the fluency exceeding that of a native speaker, regardless of race or species.
Yes, just like—.
Right now, I was speaking the continent’s common tongue and Elvish fluently in Auterica.
In other words, it was a skill inherently installed for awakened beings transported to this other world.
“…No, wait. Don’t jump to conclusions. There must be a use for it.”
Thinking about it, this ability was certainly useful back on Earth.
How many headaches had I dealt with when the Hahoe Mask first operated in Japan due to language issues?
Because of that, hadn’t I diligently read memories related to language and learned Japanese separately for some time?
…In other words, if Hans had just enough time, it would be an easily replaceable ability.
“Cough, Hans is a high-caliber individual. No more wasting time on those issues means it’s genuinely a good ability.”
It meant more time for gathering information directly, and not needing to go through tedious intermediary steps was a huge advantage.
Having fiercely rationalized myself, I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away.
…Vowing never to gamble again.
The remaining karma sat at 4.4 million.
I almost let my spirits drop, but as I surveyed the remaining points, I calmed myself.
‘Sticking with unique skill enhancement is the way to go.’
The foundation that made me who I am; a choice that never left me regrettable, like a reliable bowl of soup.
I picked the 1.2 million “Unique Skill Enhancement.”
《The potential of the avatar rises. Learning abilities of the individual improve further.》
《The unique skill grows, expanding possibilities. Related sub-skills strengthen.》
This time, while there weren’t any special abilities gained, it didn’t matter that my avatars had increased in number.
And the next item up for grabs was.
『Gold Dragon Hatchling Hureione’s Dragon Heart (910,000)』
A species born with immense power, who effortlessly wields magic and transcends norms with mere aging.
It was a necessary medium to emulate such beings.
‘Now that I can transform into a different race, I must try the strongest one—Dragons!’
Of course, it was genuinely a heartfelt desire, but there was more to it than just that.
I was the one who had brought avatars, starting from an ordinary race, to the pinnacle of the continent.
If I raised a dragon with far superior potential than humans—wouldn’t it be possible to truly surpass even Undead King Hans?
Besides, it would also be a great help in facing the Head of the Buncheon Society.
Since my greatest force, Hans, would be disadvantaged against that angel, it only made sense for a dragon to step up and balance the scales!
So, I selected the cheapest Dragon Heart for my medium, having already browsed through the product list.
It was half the price compared to the 1.83 million I had initially found.
Though 910,000 for a hatchling dragon still seemed horrifyingly high, it was bearable.
‘Having been targeted for complete extinction in two great wars, most Dragon Hearts became tainted by the Undead King, and the healthy ones were repurposed as war supplies by the continent.’
In grand conflicts where the entire race’s existence was at stake, there was no way to be thrifty.
Sure, there were some items forged from Dragon Hearts that had miraculously survived to this day, but…
‘Chipped and processed Dragon Hearts won’t meet the requirements.’
Even without the Undead King, the influence of Heinrich Saint Landgard or Heinz II could secure a few magical items.
But that would only be a fantastic magical tool—it was unsuitable as a material for “Customization.”
‘To be used as a medium, it must be a pure item, untouched and untainted.’
Creating typical races like humans, elves, and dwarves was different.
And obviously, such high-quality items wouldn’t still be lying around in easily accessible places.
So, a hatchling’s Dragon Heart being 910,000 made sense.
‘Such unique items seem to carry certain conditions, and the price fluctuates in real-time depending on circumstances, as if they aren’t truly present in the continent.’
In hindsight, it’d be much more efficient to proactively grow avatars while earning karma rather than pursued items without a roadmap just to save some points.
Wrapping up my thoughts, I cut off the lengthy dilemma and resolutely made the purchase before any further hesitation kicked in.
Wooong—
And simultaneously.
A fist-sized golden crystal emerged, cutting through space and gently settled in my palm, emanating a soft golden glow.
‘This is a real Dragon Heart.’
It was far smaller than what I saw when Harley plunged into Heratos’s heart, yet the energy emanating from it was overwhelmingly pure.
“However… is it a bit lacking?”
But the moment I laid eyes on it, I instinctively understood.
This item was suitable as a medium but I was still too inexperienced to utilize “Customization” with it.
‘Lacking? Then I’ll just enhance it!’
Having come this far, retreat was not an option.
With 2.29 million points remaining.
I used “Other Skill Enhancement” at 100,000 points to enhance “Customization” once.
“Still not enough?”
Yet it still wasn’t sufficient.
Suppressing the quivering edges of my lips, I used 200,000 points next to reinforce it again.
Now the remaining points stood at 1.99 million.
As I lamented over the first digit becoming 1, just then, the lower unit accumulated and my balance returned to 2 million, enabling me to use “Customization”—the satisfaction swelling in my heart doubled.
‘No need to hesitate.’
Even though it’s extraordinarily stable with minimal released energy and various barriers set up all over the house, I couldn’t keep something with this much energy around for long.
Swish—
And the moment I activated the skill.
The golden Dragon Heart in my grasp slowly turned to powder and swept away.
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